Taking another day off from blogging, but remember my comment about internet access for the farm? Looks like the Department of Agriculture is trying to address the issue. Good thing. In many rural locations both television reception and internet accessibility can only be received via antenna or satellite.

There are two major problems with that. Even with “the box” to receive digital signal, some areas still cannot access locally broadcast television. For example, parts of Kentucky with “the box” can no longer receive the PBS station broadcasts they previously pulled (for free) out of the air. With lagging education levels in some locations, this is definitely a fall-back to the days when the Beverly Hillbillies made fun of mountain people, but the mountain people couldn’t see the program. Not to mention the financial discrimination against rural folks living in poverty, of which Kentucky has more than its share.

The second problem is with weather. If both television and internet go down during a thunderstorm, only a weather alert radio can advise people of impending danger of tornadoes, floods, etc., and since some areas rely on weather alert from multiple locations (because there is no radio site near their home) weather radios in the summer are on nearly constant alert to the point where people either don’t purchase one, turn it off or ignore it all together.

In our area, even broadband services provided by the phone company are unavailable. Perhaps in time the USDA’s program will remedy that.

Have a wonderful Sunday. I will begin taking weekends off from the blog and as school begins and I have less time, my posts may become less frequent. I will try to post a calendar today that highlights the days I have posted, or you can watch facebook if you are on my friends’ list for any new posts when August rolls around.

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About cattlebaroness

I am a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a BA in History, nearing completion of a Master of Arts in American history. Born and raised first on military bases around the world, then in Orange County, CA, I moved to Kentucky when my children were small. I now live on a small family farm and am learning about farm life, planting and our newest addition to the landscape--cattle. Until a month or two ago, all I knew about 'cows' were that they came in brown, black and white and that some are raised for milk and others for meat. I am a quick study out of necessity.

Readers, don’t make The Baroness do extra work. When you post, check the box below the “post comment” button that says “notify me of new posts via email” and you’ll get a notice every time she posts. A nice way to show you enjoy her blog as much as I do. Happy day to all.

Thank you, Jim, that is a great tip! My readers need to be aware, too, that if they use a commercial site to send comments, the filter sometimes dumps them into spam. I try to catch the ‘whoopsies’, but am not always as prompt as when notified by email.